FOREIGN TOURISM IN VENEZUELA INCREASES DUE TO CRUISES

Between January and April of this year, the arrival of international tourists on cruise ships recorded a growth of 91.56 percent compared to the same time in 2013.

In accordance with a study done by the Ministry of Popular Power for Tourism (Mintur) and the Administrative Service of Migration and Immigration Identification (Saime), 30,533 tourists were recorded at the International Port of La Guaira, in the state of Vargas.

The tool was applied to a group of 690 cruise ship passengers that arrived at the port between January 7th and April 30th, and they completed the itinerary that tourism operators offered at the Vargas pier.

In its way, Colombia continues to remain the largest sender of tourists to Venezuela with 47.14%, followed by Argentina (8.84%), and Brazil (8.44%). Likewise, the study reveals that 79 percent of those interviewed would like to return and more than 50 percent considered Venezuela as “a safe tourist destination.”

Likewise, 40.46% of international visitors thought that “the main reason that they chose Venezuela was because of its tourist attractions” and 26.01% “because of tourist agency recommendations.”

In this sense, the survey revealed that 47.65 percent would like to visit Margarita Island. The second most preferred destination is the Los Roques Archipelago with 14.77 percent, and afterward, the Canaima National Park with 13.42 percent.

In addition, the historic part of Caracas with 44.32 percent, the beaches of Vargas (19.59 percent), the Los Próceres promenade (18.56 percent), and Waraira Repano Park with 17.53 percent, are among the most visited tourist destinations by travelers during their stay in Venezuela.

Lastly, the Venezuelan Mintur pointed out that “the tourism survey given to passengers on cruise ships, done in the maritime port of La Guaira, gave important and positive results, showing that the policies applied in the last year by the national government to encourage tourism as one of the main driving forces behind the economic development of the country have been effective.”